Shadows of the Past
by Skythief
Summary: FE7 Jaffar and Nino thought they could leave their past lives behind for good. But no one can shake off the shadows of the past.


It's been an eternity since I've last written anything for ... Just the usual introduction, I don't own Fire Emblem and such, just the stuff you've read a thousand times by now. Reviews are greatly appreciated, flames will be smiled upon.

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><p>„Are you absolutely sure this location is correct?" the young man asked, slightly leaning back in his chair, his light brown hair covering his forehead down to his eyebrows. „Absolutely", answered the dark haired, bearded man across the table. „My information may not be for free, but it is the most reliable you'll get outside the royal spy networks."<p>

Although it was still early in the evening, the tavern was already moderately crowded. The light of oil lamps illuminated decks of playing cards, dice and the first few rounds of ale. The sounds of conversation and laughter drowned the ticking of a light rain. While the the sky was grey and the streets were empty save for the last strays hasting towards their destination, the 'Owl in a Bucket' tavern was experiencing the foretaste of a lively night.

Gathered around a small table were three men, all fighters by the looks of them, staring at a map of the country of Bern. A fourth, the bearded man, was already making his way towards the exit of the tavern. The three were discussing excitedly. „So that's where he's been hiding all this time" the young man with the light brown hair said, his bow and quiver hanging loosely on the back of his chair. „This is gonna be our biggest catch so far. If we succeed, we will be rewarded a mountain of gold."

„You shouldn't take this too lightly, Tarn. We must be careful. He didn't get his nickname for nothing." The one who spoke was a swordsman with long brown hair and a scar on his cheek, apparently the oldest of the group. The third was a short man with short, black hair and dark brown eyes. He nodded, then smirked. „Isn't the risk what makes life as a bounty hunter so exciting?" The man named Tarn smiled approvingly, but the swordsman sighed and shook his head.

It was in that moment a figure rose from a dark corner of the tavern and made its way to their table, taking a generous swallow of dark ale from a wooden mug in his right hand. „A big fish indeed", the figure spoke. „Let me tell you this: You are no match for him. I advice you back down while you can."

„What do you even know about it?" The man named Tarn raised his voice. „I know about it better than anyone else in this world", the stranger replied. If you paid attention, you could have seen a deep sadness in his brown eyes or heard a hint of bitterness in his voice. Yet the bounty hunters did not pay attention. The man passed the table, put his mug and a few coins down on the counter and made his way to the exit.

„What was that supposed to be?" the brown haired archer wondered. „Let's not breed on it too much and order our drinks. We should enjoy the evening and set out tomorrow", his black haired companion replied as he gestured the serving girl over. They ordered a round of ale and raised their glasses to their future wealth.

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><p>Matthew stood outside the door of the 'Owl in a Bucket', looking at the grey sky, the light rain dripping on his sandy hair. <em>Has it really already been five years? <em>For a moment, he seemed to recognize a familiar face in the shapes of the clouds. Five letters slipped his mouth, forming a name. „Leila"

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><p>Jaffar opened the door and entered the house, soaked in sweat. It had been a warm, sunny day. One of those days on which there was plenty of work for anyone with strong arms and legs. As he closed the door behind him, he noticed the smell of stew hanging thick in the air. He heard bare feet on the wooden floor and he heared humming, a familiar hum Jaffar had heard a lot over the last few years, and had grown fond of.<p>

At the sound of the door closing, the humming stopped and his wife turned to face him. „Welcome home, my dear." Nino smiled, cheerful as always, and walked over to embrace her husband. They weren't officially husband and wife, as they had never executed their marriage under witness of the Elimine church, but nobody in the village doubted they were married, the general opinion being confirmed when Nino had given birth to twin boys, who were, by the sound of it, currently fast asleep.

Jaffar looked at his wife, then at everything surrounding him. _Home_. He had never really understood the meaning of the word, as his entire earlier life had consisted of travelling, first aimlessly, later moving from assignment to assignment. It hadn't been until he had met the girl who was now standing in front off him as a grown woman. The girl who had taught him to laugh, to cry, to act for the sake of others. Now, when he looked around him, he thought he finally understood. _My wife. My family. Home._

„Come, have some stew. You must be tired."

„Not really, to be honest." It was the truth. While he had been sweating heavily, that had mostly been from the heat of the sun. Even after a day of hard work, his body showed no other signs of exhaustion. His arms weren't heavy, his muscles didn't ache in the least. He had put up with much harder work in the past. He had rode all day, then fought all night. His body was steeled to the extent where he couldn't remember the last time he had _really_ felt exhaustion.

„You should eat something none the less", she pointed out, warming a bowl full of stew with a fire spell. In that moment, the door was slammed open. Jaffar turned his head around towards the door to see three men standing in the door frame, each carrying a weapon.

„Nice to meet you... Angel of Death."

Jaffars muscles readied themself immediately, a reflex he had acquired early on in his life. He bent his knees slightly, fingers enclosing his absent daggers.

„Who are you?" he asked, his voice calm and composed.

„The ones who will capture you", the answer came, and one of the men rushed forward, his long brown hair falling back and revealing a scar on his cheek.

He unsheeted his sword and slashed at Jaffar in one flowing motion. The assassin simply sidestepped the attack, but before he could do anything else, the next slash came at him, making him jump back to evade the blow. Three quick strikes followed, each one forcing him to take a step back. He saw a flicker of confidence in the eyes of his opponent when he crouched down to avoid a swing of his sword, but as he saw that same sword flying down towards him, he gripped the wrist of his opponent's sword arm with his left hand and drove his right fist into his foe's stomach. Without leaving any time to react, Jaffar struck the swordsman's neck with the edge of his hand and he fell down to the ground unconscious.

Jaffar looked up at the other men, just in time to see a half dozen arrows being shot with lightning speed. Each one of them would have hit their target, would the assassin have remained in the same spot for a fragment of a second longer. Instead, they were doomed to hit the dead wood of the wall as he bypassed them with an agility and speed that could barely be called human, then came to stand in front of the archer with the light brown hair in the blink of an eye. In that moment, all confidence left the young man's face and was replaced with fear as he heard the words of the stranger ring in his ears:

_'You are no match for him.' _

In the next moment, he felt a heavy blow on his temple and lost consciousness.

It was then that Nino, who hadn't moved an inch since the starting of the fight, let out an anxious yelp. Jaffar turned around to see the third man standing at the bed. His cloak covering his face, he held an infant in one arm, holding the point of his blade at the boy's throat.

Jaffar's expression, which had remained dispassionate throughout the fight turned into a grimace of shock, anger and hate. Seeing it, the bounty hunter said: „So this is indeed your child. Who would have thought! The Angel of Death, not only here in a house in the country side, but with his own little family."

„I'm not the Angel of Death anymore", Jaffar replied after a short silence. A maniacal grin formed in the shadow of the bounty hunter's cloak. „Be that as it is, you're not worth any less money", he continued. „If you want for the kid to survive, you stop resisting and come with me."

Jaffar clenched his teeth. For a few seconds, neither of the men moved, but then Jaffar relaxed stance and put his hands behind his head. „Good boy", the hunter reacted. Nino covered her mouth with her hands. „Jaffar! They'll sentence you to death!"

„I'd rather that than have our sons in harm's way."

„Of course I don't want them to get hurt either, but..."

„But nothing", he interrupted her. „There's no other way."

The hunter slowly moved towards Jaffar, still holding the infant in hostage position. He kept a careful eye on both him and Nino. It was not until he was standing behind the assassin that he put the boy down to grip his target's wrists. However, that small timeframe was enough for Jaffar to turn around and place a sharp kick. He hit his opponent's sword arm and the blade fell to the ground with a thud. The second kick followed quickly and hit his groin, making him bend over in pain. A quick blow to the temple brought him to the ground. His cloak fell off to reveal his short black hair and brown eyes.

He looked up at the redhead assassin, smiling a painful smile. „I can't believe it. No matter how careful I was, you managed to overwhelm me." His voice was filled with pain from the strong, quick hits. He closed his eyes. „I have lost. I guess my story ends here." When he opened his eyes again, he saw Jaffar looking down on him, his face still full of anger. But a moment later, the redhead composed himself. „I told you already", he said. „I am no longer the Angel of Death."

Just as the man on the ground lost consciousness, clapping came from outside the door. In the doorframe stood a short man with wild, sandy hair and brown eyes, two daggers attached to his belt.

„A great show indeed. You have really changed a lot, Jaffar."

„Matthew. Have you come to fight me as well? Have you come to, at last, get your revenge?"

„Straight to the point aren't we? I might as well have."

He moved closer, until he stood barely two feet away from Jaffar, who remained perfectly still.

„However, I have to find out right now that despite all the pain you put me through, I can't." Matthew's voice had a strange ring to it, as if he couldn't quite cope with the fact. „I want to, but I can't. When I look into your eyes, I thought I'd see the eyes of a cold blooded assassin. But I don't. I see the eyes of a loving husband and a caring father."

He then let his view sweep around the house. „Seems like you've moved on... Maybe I am supposed to do the same." More to himself than anyone else, he whispered: „My dear, what would you do?" He just stood there for a few seconds. Then, his eyes refocused, and he turned around, heading for the door.

„Matthew", the former Black Fang stopped him. The Ostian spy halted, but didn't turn around again. Jaffar continued: „Take Nino and the boys with you. I don't care where, as long as it's safe."

Now Matthew turned around, raising an eyebrow.

„What!" Nino exclaimed. „Why would you say that?"

„If today taught me anything, then it's that I'm still bein hunted. It's dangerous for you to stay with me. I cannot shake of the shadows of my past."

A childish part of her took hold of Nino. „That's cruel! After all, you can't just go! It can't be the only way!" Deep inside, maybe she knew he spoke the truth, yet she was not ready to accept it.

Jaffar turned his head away from her. „Please, Matthew."

The Ostian spy stood very still, eyes jumping from Jaffar, to Nino, to the twins, at a loss for what to do. Nino collapsed, her legs no longer to supporting her weight. She started crying loudly, unable to get a hold of herself. Her husband passed Metthew to stand in the doorframe. „Please", he repeated. A silence followed in which Nino's sobbing was the only sound.

„I'll take her to Lucius", the thief finally said. „He has an orphanage in Lycia, so he'll be able to take them in, I think."

He turned around to see Jaffar, but he had already disappeared.

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><p>Thanks for reading, and please review.<p> 


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